A homological characterization of hyperbolic groups

A finitely presented group G is hyperbolic iff H ⁽¹⁾ ₁(G,ℝ)=0=⁽¹⁾ ₂(G, ℝ), where H ⁽¹⁾ _* (resp. ⁽¹⁾ _*) denotes the ℓ₁-homology (resp. reduced ℓ₁-homology). If Γ is a graph, then every ℓ₁ 1-cycle in Γ with real coefficients can be approximated by 1-cycles of compact support. A 1-relator group G is hyperbolic iff H ⁽¹⁾ ₁(G,ℝ)=0. Oblatum: 30-IV-1997 & 14-V-1998 / Published online: 14 January 1999